Can psychoanalysis offer a new computer model? Can computer designers help psychoanalysts to understand their theory better? In contemporary publications human psyche is often related to neural networks. Why? The wiring in computers can also be related to application software. But does this really make sense?

Artificial Intelligence has tried to implement functions of human psyche. The reached achievements are remarkable; however, the goal to get a functional model of the mental apparatus was not reached. Was the selected direction incorrect?The editors are convinced: yes, and they try to give answers here. If one accepts that the brain is an information processing system, then one also has to accept that computer theories can be applied to the brain’s functions, the human mental apparatus.

The contributors of this book – Solms, Panksepp, Sloman and many others who are all experts in computer design, psychoanalysis and neurology are united in one goal: finding synergy in their interdisciplinary fields.

With the kind support of our sponsor Siemens we had the opportunity to record the complete day and both parallel discussion sessions. The DVD box, gives you the opportunity to rehearse this dense day and work through the presentations and discussions again to extract all relevant information.

The new website www.simulatingthemind.info is now up and running. We hope to establish it as a communication platform for everything related to modeling the mind. We will provide regular updates about ongoing activities, including scientific conferences, special sessions, new papers. We hope that we are able to attract other researchers, who also work in the field, so if you know about an event or have published a paper, feel free. Contributions are always welcome and encouraged. If you are a reader we recommend to check back frequently to get your updates and the information you are looking for.